CompuServe Thread

#Creative Labs CD Drive

6 messages in this thread
#34609From: Mark SheltonDec 21, 1992 6:41 PM
So far Frank, I like it just fine… It's not the fastest you can buy nor the latest technology but it does what I want. The only drawback is that even with driver mods, it may not support multi-session PhotoCDs (I'm not sure). It does support single-session PhotoCDs (with a new driver from CL) however. I'm not sure how important PhotoCD capability is, I just like to keep my options open. If you want to shop around, I saw a message in the PACFORUM about a third-party drive for the SBPRO that supported PhotoCD and was faster but I think it costs more too. Regards… Mark
#34678From: Kevin BarrowDec 22, 1992 3:32 PM
I heard rumors that Creative Labs has a beta going on right now for multi-session PhotoCDs. I haven't checked into my self since I have no use for it as of yet. Kb
#34777From: Mark SheltonDec 23, 1992 5:05 PM
CL does have a new beta driver out for PhotoCDs. I have one single-session CD that is works just fine yet. I'm trying pretty hard to find out if the driver will support multi-session too but haven't gotten much info in this area. CL doesn't offer tech support on beta versions of S/W. Mark
#34798From: Kevin BarrowDec 23, 1992 9:34 PM
Thanks Mark I'll look into getting this beta. I have to admit I haven't really paid any attention to PhotoCD's, but will have to retify this right away. You have yourself a good Christmas. Kb
#34725From: Nick ArnettDec 23, 1992 12:28 AM
Mark, Have you seen a final driver for PhotoCD? We have a beta version of it in MULTIVEN, but I'm not aware of a final version yet. In fact, maybe the beta is for multi-session… Nick
#34775From: Mark SheltonDec 23, 1992 4:55 PM
No… I haven't seen a final version for CL's PhotoCD driver. I got it off their tech support BBS on 12/14. I've used the driver with their model 521-C Panasonic CDROM player without any problems. However, my one PhotoCD disc is a Kodak "PhotoCD Access Program and Photo Sampler" which is a single-session disc. So I don't know if the driver works with multisession CDs. Joel White of Kodak says the player will require a hardware mod to become multi-session capable. He explained to me that with a multi-session CD, the player must be smart enough to scan the entire CD to find the latest version of the (for lack of better terms) File Allocation Table. Since FATs can't be overwritten on a CD, multi-session discs will have an updated one written with each session. Frankly, being a EE, this just doesn't sound like something that requires a hardware mod to support. Anyway… it works great with single-session. Let me know if you find out any more about it. Thanks. Mark